A Study on Big Data Awareness among Management Undergraduates in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The emergence of new technologies has modified the way businesses handle the information. Big data technology, which is best known for its capability to deliver competitive advantages, has been increasingly adopted by many organizations. A well-informed workforce of advanced technologies is fundamental for successful implication of any technology. Therefore, the technological understanding has become a fundamental expectation of corporate recruiters and further it determines successful career establishments. The purpose of present study is to assess the big data awareness among management undergraduates in Sri Lanka. A descriptive survey was performed and the correlation, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling performed the data analysis. The results disclosed that level of usefulness and the level of effectiveness on big data are significant components of big data awareness where level of experience found insignificant predictor of big data awareness. The findings implied the directions in which the future human resources should be developed.

Assessment of the Awareness of Nigerian Professionals in the Built Environment on the Big Data analytics (BDA) Applications in the Construction Industry.

“…Big data is not a technology itself. It simply "refers to collections of data so large in varied and dynamic forms that they cannot be handled by conventional data processing technology" (Tennakoon and Lasanthika, 2020). Notwithstanding the three common defining attributes, today big data has been defined by six characteristics namely Volume, Velocity, Variety, Value, Variability, and Veracity (Wang and Alexander, 2015).…”

“…Considering the construction industry stance and contribution to the global economy, to be relevant in modern transactions, digitisation is not optional (Ezeokoli, Onyia, and Bert-Okonkwor, 2019). It is becoming clear that whatever level of knowledge and competence professionals acquire within the built environment discipline, automation is taking over; thus trained (traditional) skills might not be fully maximised by the clients who are now IT-compliant and seek intelligent solutions (Tennakoon and Lasanthika, 2020). Meisels ( 2019) noted that professionals trained in data analytics will be in high demand in the era of construction 4.0.…”

“…The study draws on two theoretical perspectives to explain the awareness of Big Data Analytics (BDA) of professionals within the Nigerian context. Based on the work carried out by Tennakoon and Lasanthika (2020) and Izhar and Shoid (2016), this study adopts variables to evaluate the level of BDA awareness among professionals in the built environment. These variables include knowledge level, level of application/adoption, success level, and the level of opportuni-ties of the concept.…”

“…The variables put forward in this study are viewed significantly in the research framework and therefore deemed to propel a better understanding of BDA. The conceptual framework (Figure 1) is designed based on the discussion in previous studies to evaluate the proposed variables; knowledge level, level of application/adoption, success level, and opportunities level (Adepoju and Aigbaboa, 2020;Ezeokoli et al, 2019;Izhar and Shoid, 2016;Tennakoon and Lasanthika, 2020). Figure 1 depicted the presumed association.…”

“…Current studies like that of offer global insight on the current status, opportunities of big data. The study efforts by Tennakoon and Lasanthika (2020) is limited to Sri Lanka's landscape and cannot suffice as it was based on assessing university students' awareness of the subject matter. Whereas the works of Adepoju and Aigbaboa (2020) and Ezeokoli and Onyia (2019) assessed knowledge and skill gaps and examined the state of readiness of professionals towards digital transformation in the Nigerian context, they are both generic in their approach and failed to capture specific issues around big data Analytics.…”